historic final mission
the space shuttle sts-135 atlantis soared into the heavens and the history books on july 8, kicking off the last-ever mission of nasa's storied shuttle program.
the launch marks the end of an era. the space shuttles have served as the complex workhorses of the u.s. manned space program for the last 30 years, playing a key role in the building and operation of the international space station (iss) and performing other important missions. the end of the shuttle program leaves the united states without its own manned spacecraft. but the final shuttle mission marks at the same time the beginning of a new development - the commercial spaceflight era. private companies like spacex, orbital sciences, sierra nevada corporation or virgin galactic are developing new launch and space transportation systems for future space travel.
michael went down to kennedy space center in florida to experience the unforgetable feeling of a shuttle launch and to photograph this historic event, which served him as a kick off for his new "outer space" series.